Malaysia wants to take back "full control" of the airspace over Southern Johor, said Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Loke, speaking in Malaysian Parliament on Dec. 4, referred to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia's (CAAM) decision to reject a proposed move by Malaysian airline Firefly.

This would have seen Firefly relocate its turboprop operations from Changi Airport to the new Seletar Airport.

Due to this decision, Firefly suspended flights to Singapore from Dec. 1 onwards.

Not happy with new procedures

According to the Straits Times, Loke was unhappy that Singapore had issued new Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for Seletar Airport on Dec. 1, which will come into force on January 3.

Loke said that Malaysia did not agree with the move as it would allegedly stunt development around the Pasir Gudang industrial district, by imposing height restrictions on buildings and affecting port activities.

As such, Malaysia will issue a protest note to Singapore through the Foreign Ministry.

Loke further claimed that the issue was about defending "national sovereignty".

Singapore's response

Airspace management is about safety first

However, later that same day, Singapore's Ministry for Transport (MOT) rebutted Loke's claims.

In a statement to the media, it said that the purpose of airspace management is to ensure the safety and efficiency of air traffic.

It noted that countries like the U.S., France and Australia all had arrangements for airspace management to be provided by third parties.

The statement also said that "sovereignty is a fundamental principle of international law. Singapore respects Malaysia’s sovereignty".

New flight procedures will not impact Johor

MOT stated that the new ILS procedures were designed in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, which have been acknowledged by the CAAM since 1974.

In 1974, a bilateral agreement was signed between Singapore and Malaysia to operationalise the agreements to ensure efficient air traffic flows in and out of Singapore, which was approved by the ICAO.

Malaysia has been an ICAO member since 1958.

MOT stated that the publication of these new ILS procedures were in accordance with ICAO requirements as well as existing bilateral arrangements with Malaysia.

MOT added that the new ILS procedures were aligned with the existing, decades-old flight profiles into Seletar, and take into account existing structures in Pasir Gudang.

Therefore, the procedures will not impose any additional impact on other airspace users, the businesses and residents of Johor, and shipping on the Straits of Johor.

New flight procedures shared with Malaysia in Dec. 2017

MOT also said that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) had informed the Malaysian Ministry of Transport of the move of turboprop operations from Changi to Seletar in 2014, four years ago.

The new ILS procedures were shared with the CAAM in Dec. 2017, about a year ago.

But despite repeated reminders, MOT did not receive a substantive response from CAAM until late Nov. 2018 -- about a week ago.

Matter of international law

Under international law, any move by Malaysia to "take control" will need to come about as a discussion by both countries, and obtain the approval of the ICAO first.

A similar incident occurred in Dec. 2017, when certain Indonesian individuals objected to Singapore's "control" of the Flight Information Region over the Riau Islands,

This prompted a reply on Facebook by Singapore's Embassy in Jakarta.

In the Indonesian case, Singaporean authorities, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had previously explained this was a technical matter and not a politicised issue about sovereignty.

Related story:

Top image from Anthony Loke's Facebook page.

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